A study on idiomatic expressions containing the word water in english and nước in vietnamese

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF DANANG NGUYỄN VĂN KHIẾU A STUDY ON IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING THE WORD “WATER” IN ENGLISH AND “NƯỚC” IN VIETNAMESE Field Code : : The English Language 60.22.15 MASTER THESIS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES (A SUMMARY) Danang, 2013 The study has been completed at College of Foreign Languages, University of Danang Supervisor: TRẦN QUANG HẢI, Ph.D Examiner : Dr Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Hoa Examiner : Dr Trương Bạch Lê The thesis was orally defended at the Examining Committee Time : June 9th , 2013 Venue : University of Danang The Origin of the thesis is accessible for the purpose of reference at: - The College of Foreign Languages Library, University of Danang - Information Resourse Centre, University of Danang CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE Each nation has its own language People naturally speak the language spoken by their forefathers However, English has had worldwide recognition for ages and becomes the most popular language Especially, in open-door period and the trend towards internationalization, English has become an essential tool in international communication and integration Therefore, the need for learning English is increasing not only in quantity but also in quality Apart from learning practical English for daily communication, for future jobs, for professional advancement, or for knowledge about England - its people, customs and culture – learners study the theory of its language to get a thorough insight into the language Thanks to this language, we can belong to the world as well as to our own country, and especially using idioms is very important in everyday communication for the following reasons Firstly, idiomatic expressions play an important part in a language both in written and spoken forms The most effective and interesting way in communication is using idiomatic expressions because they contain not only the literal meanings but the figurative and expensive meaning as well They are an integral part of a language and they make the language more beautiful and dynamic In English the demand for using idiomatic expressions is becoming higher because it is spoken all over the world Secondly, idiomatic expressions cause us many difficulties in communication Though idioms help speakers and writer communicate more effectively and make the language more interesting, they are not easy at all for everyone to use and master idioms appropriately Listeners and readers also find it really hard to understand idioms because their meanings cannot often be deduced from the individual components Idioms are used both in written and spoken language to emphasize meanings and make our observation, judgment and explanations more lively and interesting, so they have aesthetic function In other words, they are really useful tools for communicating a great deal of meaning in just a few words For example, to express a difficult situation that is hard to deal with the English people often say “to be in deep water” or to be critical of a plan that others thought was exciting or great they would like to say “to pour cold water on something” If we want to indicate that someone feels awkward or uncomfortable because he is in a situation which he has not experienced before, we use the idioms “To be like a fish out of water” If we want to talk about floating life, the Vietnamese say “bọt nước cánh bèo” We are attracted by the questions how and why idioms differ from each other between English and Vietnamese in case of idioms containing the word “water” For these reasons above, I have decided to research into the topic entitled “A study on idiomatic expressions containing the word ”water” in English and “nước” in Vietnamese” with a strong I desire to help learners to achieve proper comprehension and usage of English idioms containing the word “water” in English and“nước” inVietnamese 1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.3.1 Aims The study is aimed at finding out the syntactic and semantic characteristics of English idiomatic expressions containing the word “water” and “nước” in Vietnamese More importantly, it provides Vietnamese learners of English with a basic knowledge of the field and enables them to deeply understand, effectively and naturally, use idioms in listening, speaking, reading and writing To some extent, they can be better aware of the beauty of English 1.3.2 Objectives - Identify and describe the syntactic features of English idiomatic expressions containing the word “water” and “nước” in Vietnamese - Identify and describe the semantic features of English idiomatic expressions containing the word “water” and“nước” in Vietnamese - To offer some implications for teaching and learning English idiomatic expressions containing the word “water” and “nước” in Vietnamese 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY We wish to confine ourselves to studying idiomatic expressions containing the word ”water” and “nước” in Vietnamese in terms of syntactic and semantic features The similarities and dissimilarities in syntactic and semantic features withdrawn from the study could not be explained on the basis of the cultural features of the languages in comparison 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are the syntactic and semantic characteristics of English idiomatic expressions containing the word “water” and “nước” in Vietnamese? What are the similarities and differences between English idiomatic expressions containing the word “water” and “nước” in Vietnamese in terms of syntax and semantics? What are some suggestions for teaching and learning English idiomatic expressions containing the word “water” and “nước” in Vietnamese? 1.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY The research includes five chapters as follows: Chapter 1: “Introduction Chapter 2: “Literature Review and Theoretical Background” Chapter 3: “Research Design and Methodology” Chapter 4: “Findings and Discussion” Chapter 5: “Conclusion and Recommendation” CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 AN OVERVIEW TO THE PREVIOUS STUDIES RELATED TO THE RESEARCH Up to now, there have been many researchers who pay attention to idioms Mc Marie with “English Idiom and How to Use them” (published in 1909), is considered among the first authors to study on the field of English Idioms Other authors include Smith with “Idioms” (1922), Collins with “A book of English Idioms with Explanation” (published in 1958), Broke with “Idioms for Everyday Use” (published in 1994), Cowries, Martin and Cairo with “Oxford Dictionary of Current idiomatic English” (published in 1994), Quick, Douglas Bibber, Rod Bonito and many other authors with “Longman Idiom Dictionary” ” (published in 1998), Teachers and Researchers from Cambridge University with “Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms” (published in 1999) Idioms also attract the attention of many Vietnamese researchers Nguyễn Lực, Lương Văn Đang, are two authors who made a significant contribution in the field of Vietnamese idioms They wrote “Thành Ngữ Tiếng Việt” which is a collection of Vietnamese idioms arranged in alphabetical order with clear explanations and examples extracted from Vietnamese novels, newspapers and magazines 2.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.2.1 Definition of Idioms As for F.R.Palmer [27], “an idiom is an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meaning of its parts” 2.2.2 Idiomatic expressions containing the word “Water” a Definition of “water” + Word- classes “Water” belongs to different word classes depending on the meaning, form and position of the word in a sentence “Water” is a verb, such as “water down” or “water something down” “Water” is a noun as in “in hot water” + The meaning of “water” “Water” is used to denote a situation that somebody deals with in life In addition, “water” is used to indicate the quantity or frequency of doing something Or “water” is used to express the quatity of doing something, b Definition of idiomatic expressions containing the word “Water” EIW are a special kind of idioms in which the word “water” is a key word In addition, EIW are one specific group of idioms that demonstrate the way people use EIW in set expressions and how they associate EIW with other things in the world 2.2.3 Main features of idioms a Characteristics of English Idioms + Structural Features An idiom is a fixed group of words Each word is regarded as a component of an idiom An idiom can consist of at least two components Between them, it is impossible to add any other word + Semantic features According to Grains and Redman [22], “semantic opacity” or “semantic ambiguity” can be considered as one of the characteristic features of idioms 2.2.4 Idioms and Other Language Units a Idioms and phrases b Idioms and Collocations c Idioms and Proverbs 2.2.5 Concepts of Semantic Fields The term “Semantic Field” or “Semantic Domain” is used alternatively for the term “lexical field” or “lexical set” Crystal [14, p.104] defines “a semantic and lexical field” as “a named area of meaning in which lexemes interrelate and define each other in specific ways”, such as the field of “fruit” comprises the lexemes: apple, orange, banana, pear, peach… 2.3 SUMMARY CHAPTER RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN Syntactic, semantic similarities and differences of EIW and their Vietnamese equivalents will be discovered based on the description, contrast, induction, deduction The qualitative research design is used and supported by an empirical study of data collected 3.2 RESEARCH METHODS In this study, the descriptive, contrastive, deductive, inductive and equivalent translational methods are used for finding out the syntactic characteristics of EIW and “nước” inVietnamese 3.3 PROCEDURES 3.4 SAMPLING I choose the samples based on the following criteria: - I collect the idioms in English - I collect EIW and “nước” in Vietnamese from dictionaries and websites on the internet - I choose English idiomatic expressions which contain the word “water” and “nước” in Vietnamese 3.5 DATA ANALYSIS 3.6 INSTRUMENTS FOR ANALYSIS 3.7 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY 3.7.1 Reliability 3.7.2 Validity 10 Table 4.1 Verb phrase structures of English idiomatic expressions containing the word “water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese ENGLISH VIETNAMESE [1] Verb + Noun/NP/Adv.P [1] Verb + Noun/ NP+ Verb + Noun/ NP VERB PHRASE [2] Verb + Noun / Noun [2] Verb + Như + Phrase +Adverb Noun/Noun Phrase [3] Verb + Someone / [3] Verb + Như + Something +Adverb Noun + Verb [4] Verb + Prepositional [4] Verb/ Verb Phrase Phrase + Noun/Noun Phrase [5] To Be +Prepositional [5] Verb + Như + Phrase Verb + Noun/Noun Phrase b Noun Phrases + English [6] Adj + Noun (murky waters, uncharted waters) [7] Adj + Noun + Prepositional Phrase (big drink of water) [8] Adj + Noun and Adj + Noun (deep water and hot fire) [9] (Art) Noun/NP + Prep + Noun/NP (water under the bridge, water over the dam) [10] Noun/NP + and + Noun/NP (bread and water) [11] Noun + Prepositional Phrase (water under the bridge) [12] Noun/Gerund + Noun (water table, water proof) 11 + Vietnamese: [6] Như + Noun + Verb + Noun/NP(như cá gặp nước) [7] Như + Noun + Với + Noun (như cá với nước) [8] Như + Noun/NP (như nước thủy triều) [9] Noun Phrase + Noun Phrase (cơm giời nước sông) [10] Noun + Adj + Noun + Adj (ao tù nước đọng) Table 4.2 Noun phrase structures of English idiomatic expressions containing the Word “Water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese ENGLISH [6] Adjective + Noun VIETNAMESE [6] Như + Noun + Verb + Noun/Noun Phrase [7] Adjective + Noun + [7] Như + Noun + Với + Prepositional Phrase Noun NOUN [8] Adjective + Noun and [8] Như + Noun/Noun PHRASES Adjective + Noun Phrase [9] (Article) Noun/NP + [9] Noun Phrase + Noun Prep + Noun/NP Phrase [10] Noun/NP + and + [10] Noun + Adj +Noun Noun/NP + Adj [11] Noun + Prepositional X Phrase [12] Noun/Gerund + Noun X 12 c Adjective Phrases + English: [13] Adj + Prepositional Phrase (dead in the water) [14] Adj + as + Noun/Noun Phrase + Vietnamese: [11] Adj + Noun + Adj + Noun (đục nước béo cò) [12] Adj + Noun + Verb + Noun (đục nước thả câu) [13] Adj/Adj.P+ + Noun/NP (lạnh nước đá) [14] Adj + Noun (sạch nước cản) [15] Adjective + + Noun + verb (đông nước chảy) Table 4.3 Adjective phrase structures of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word “Water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese ENGLISH VIETNAMESE [13] Adj + Prepositional [11] Adjective + Noun ADJECTIVE PHRASES Phrase + Adjective + Noun [14] Adj + as + [12] Adj + Noun + Noun/Noun Phrase Verb + Noun X [13] Adjective/Adj.P+ Như + Noun/NP X [14] Adj + Noun X [15] Adjective + + Noun + verb d Prepositional Phrases + English: [15] Prep + Adj + Noun (in deep water) [16] Prep + Noun Phrase (of the first water) 13 [17] Prep + Noun and Noun (through hell and high water) [18] Prep + Noun + Prepositional Phrase (like a fish out of water) + Vietnamese The structures of prepositional phrases in Vietnamese not contain in idiomatic expressions in Vietnamese, just in English Table 4.4 Prepositional phrase structures of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word “Water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese ENGLISH VIETNAMESE [15] Preposition + X Adjective + Noun PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE [16] Preposition + Noun Phrase X [17] Preposition + Noun X and Noun [18] Prep + Noun + X Prepositional Phrase 4.1.2 Sentence Structures a Simple Sentences + English [19] S + Verb + C (blood is thicker than water) + Vietnamese [16] S + Verb + O (chuồn chuồn đạp nước) [17] S + Verb + A (nước mắt chảy quanh) b Compound sentences + English [20] S + Aux + V + O + A, Conj + S + Aux + V + O + V 14 (you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink) [21] S + A + V + O, Conj + S + V + A (you never miss the water till the well runs dry) [22] S + Aux + V + A +Relative Pronoun + V + C (mill cannot grind with water that is past) + Vietnamese [18] S + V, S + V (nước chảy đá mòn) Table 4.5 Sentence Structures of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word “Water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese English Patterns Vietnamese Number % Number % S + Verb + C 20 X X Sentences S + Verb + O X X 66.7 Compound S + Verb, S + Verb X X 33.3 Sentences S + Aux + Verb + O + 20 X X 20 X X 20 X X 100% 100% Simple A, Conj + S + Aux + Verb + O + Verb S + A + Verb + O, Conj + S + Verb + A S + Aux + Verb + A +Relative Pronoun + Verb + C Total 15 4.1.3 The Structure of English idiomatic expressions containing the word “water” and Vietnamese ones containing the word “nước” a Parallel structures Sound Repetition Rhyming Repetition Accent Repetition b Comparative Structures Table 4.6 A Summary of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word “Water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese in Grammatical Patterns ENGLISH VIETNAMESE Phrase Structures [1] Verb + Noun / Noun [1] Verb + Noun/ NP+ VP Phrase/ Adv.P Verb + Noun/ NP [2] Verb + Noun / Noun [2] Verb + Như + Phrase +Adverb Noun/Noun Phrase [3] Verb + Someone / [3] Verb + Như + Noun Something +Adverb + Verb [4] Verb + Prepositional [4] Verb/ Verb Phrase Phrase + Noun/Noun Phrase [5] To Be +Prepositional [5] Verb + Như + Verb Phrase + Noun/Noun Phrase [6] Adjective + Noun [6] Như + Noun + Verb + Noun/Noun Phrase NP [7] Adjective + Noun + [7] Như + Noun + Với Prepositional Phrase + Noun [8] Adj + Noun and Adj [8] Như + Noun/Noun + Noun Phrase 16 [9] (Article) Noun/NP + [9] Noun Phrase + Prep + Noun/NP Noun Phrase [10] Noun/NP + and + [10] Noun + Adj Noun/NP +Noun + Adj [11] Noun + X Prepositional Phrase [12] Noun/Gerund + X Noun [13] Adj + Prepositional [11] Adjective + Noun Phrase + Adjective + Noun [14] Adj + as + Noun/Noun Phrase X ADJ P [12] Adj + Noun + Verb + Noun [13] Adjective/Adj.P+ Như + Noun/NP X [14] Adj + Noun X [15] Adjective + + Noun + verb [15] Preposition + X Adjective + Noun [16] Preposition + PREP.P X Noun Phrase [17] Preposition + Noun X and Noun [18] Preposition + Noun +Prepositional Phrase X Sentences Compound Sentences Sentence Structures Simple 17 [19] S + Verb + O [16] S + Verb + C [20] S + Aux + Verb + O [17] S + Verb + A + A, Conj + S + Aux + Verb + O + Verb [21] S + A + Verb + O, [18] S + Verb, S + Conj + S + Verb + A Verb [22] S + Aux + V + A X +Relative Pronoun + V + C Table 4.7 Statistical Summary of Syntactic Features of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word “Water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese Structures Sentence Phrase Structures English Number Vietnamese Percent (%) Number Percent (%) VP 46 51.1% 26 23.6% NP 18 20% 50 45.5% Adj P 13 14.1% 29 26.4% Prep P 8.2% 0% Simple 2.2% 1.8% 4.4% 27% 90 100% 110 100% Sentences Compound Sentences Total 18 4.1.4 Similarities and Differences in Syntactic Features of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word “Water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese a Similarities b Differences 4.2 SEMANTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING THE WORD “WATER” AND “NƯỚC” IN VIETNAMESE 4.2.1 Transference of meaning of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word “Water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese a Simile b Metaphor c Hyperbole 4.2.2 Semantic fields of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word “Water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese a Thorny Situation b Power c Nature d Living conditions e Emotion f Taking advantage g Personality 19 Table 4.8 Frequency of Semantic Fields of EIW and VIN Semantic Fields of EIW and VIN EIW and VIN Word group English Vietnamese Number % Number % Thorny Situation 18 20.2% 13 11.8% Power 16 17.9% 14 12.7% Nature 1.2% 10 9% Living conditions 3.3% 11 10% Emotion 4.5% 20 18.2% Taking advantage 14 15.6% 8% Personality 13 14% 12 11% Others 21 23.3% 21 19.3% 90 100% 110 100% Total 4.2.3 Similarities and Differences in Semantic Features of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word “Water” and “Nước” in Vietnamese a Similarities b Differences 20 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 5.1 CONCLUSIONS Idioms beautify the language and help to establish the characteristics of each individual language As has already been stated, the purpose of this thesis is to study the semantic and syntactic features of idiomatic expressions containing the word “water” in English and “nước” in Vietnamese and then find out the similarities as well as differences in Enghlish and Vietnamese We have started with 90 English idiomatic expressions and 110 Vietnamese ones Especially, after analyzing the syntactic and semantic features of idioms both in English and Vietnamese, we give the data tables in order to infer what the common structures are used both in English and Vietnamese idioms Throughout syntactic and semantic fields we find out the similarities and differences in English and Vietnamese idioms Moreover, before inferring any conclusion, we analyze each of idioms carefully as well as carry out comparing and contrasting each English idiom and Vietnamese one From the discussion, we can recognize that every country has different ways in using idioms in order to express what they want to say or communicate to the readers, and basing on using idioms, learners can enrich their knowledge of the cultures of the other countries more easily and clearly By using idioms, the sentences are more beautiful and meaningful 21 In this thesis, we aim at comparing and contrasting the syntactic and semantic features of English and Vietnamese idioms throughout investigating the syntactic and semantic fields Syntactically, EIW and VIN analyzed are under the phrasal structures and sentence structures with the total of 22 patterns in English and 18 ones in Vietnamese The phrasal structures are categorized into noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, prepositional phrases Sentence structures are presented in simple and compound sentences Besides, we also mention the parallel structures of English and Vietnamese idioms in form of noun phrases, verb phrases and adjective phrases Apart from these, a summary of the similarities and differences of syntactic features of English and Vietnamese idioms is also provided Semantically, all EIW and VIN in this study express their meanings via semantic transfer means such as metaphor, hyperbole and simile Especially, metaphor is used as the main stylistic device in most of idioms in English as well as in Vietnamese such as in deep water, in hot water and dội nước lạnh, đo lọ nước mắm đếm củ dưa hành, đục nước béo cò, cờ lâm nước bí, etc in Vietnamese Hyperbole is used in some idioms such as spend money like water, could talk under water, etc in English and nước sôi lửa bỏng, sắc nước, nước chảy, nước mắt mưa, tiền (bạc) nước, etc in Vietnamese Simile appears in some idioms such as like water off a duck's back, etc in English and dâng lên nước vỡ bờ, mắng tát nước, etc in Vietnamese.besides, these English and 22 Vietnamese idioms are presented in seven fields namely thorny situation, power, personality, nature, emotion, taking advantage and living conditions Moreover, we can also find out some similarities as well as differences in terms of semantic features 5.2 IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING IDIOMS Native speakers of English often use idiomatic expressions in everyday life Therefore, Vietnamese learners of English will not understand what the speakers mean through idiomatic expressions in communicating if they not have knowledge of idioms From this, I would like to have some suggestions for language teaching and learning idiomatic expressions to help Vietnamese learners of English An important first step is exposing learners in comprehending unknown idiomatic expressions Learners should be encouraged to infer the meaning of the idiomatic expressions by using contextual clues or background knowledge After presenting idioms in context to help learners infer their meanings, teachers should revise the idioms that have been studied This can be done in some ways, including typical exercises like matching idiomatic expressions to their meanings, filling the blanks with the appropriate idioms, replacing underlined expressions with an idiom, etc Next, another significant way is that teachers also provide learners with strategies for dealing with figurative language Through a greater awareness of idioms, their literal meaning and underlying conceptual metaphors, 23 learners will be better equipped with figurative language and make sense of it without teacher’s guidance Our view is that more emphasis should be put on the teaching of EIW and VIN to Vietnamese learners of English at all levels in order to raise their awareness in learning EIW and VIN For elementary and intermediate levels, in each lesson teachers should provide idioms, explains and give examples of idioms clearly Learners should use tasks or exercises choosing the appropriate idiomatic expression to substitute for the italicized word or words in each sentence or filling in each blank with the appropriate form of an idiomatic expression from this unit or answering these questions orally in the lesson This helps learners to remember the lesson better For advanced levels, teachers should be sensible in dealing with cultural differences between languages in order to provide more precise explanations for the learners The learners are help to use idioms in practicing different communicative skills and choose appropriate idioms in certain contexts Moreover, teachers should guide Vietnamese learners in: - Using various dictionaries, course books and others to check the correctness of idioms before using them - Finding idiomatic expressions in the daily speech of English speaking people, in novels, books, newspapers and magazine articles, idioms of expression abound 24 - Writing much, getting their compositions corrected if possible by a native speaker and attends carefully to the collections - Practically, to reach these aims, I would like to introduce to learners of English at all levels some suggested types of exercises, each of which has its own purpose and requires different ability from learners 5.3 LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Due to the shortage of reference materials related to the thesis, the study has only covered a very small scope within a vast area of research and has not reached a satisfactory depth as it should For these reasons, there are some other aspects that need to be further investigated Some suggestions for the further research are: - An investigation into English Proverbs Containing the Word “Water” in English and“nước” inVietnamese - An investigation into Pragmatic and Cultural Aspects of English Proverbs Containing the Word “Water” in English and“nước” inVietnamese [...]... + A S + Aux + Verb + A +Relative Pronoun + Verb + C Total 15 4.1.3 The Structure of English idiomatic expressions containing the word water and Vietnamese ones containing the word nước a Parallel structures Sound Repetition Rhyming Repetition Accent Repetition b Comparative Structures Table 4.6 A Summary of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word Water and Nước in Vietnamese in Grammatical... expressions containing the word water in English and nước in Vietnamese and then find out the similarities as well as differences in Enghlish and Vietnamese We have started with 90 English idiomatic expressions and 110 Vietnamese ones Especially, after analyzing the syntactic and semantic features of idioms both in English and Vietnamese, we give the data tables in order to infer what the common structures... depth as it should For these reasons, there are some other aspects that need to be further investigated Some suggestions for the further research are: - An investigation into English Proverbs Containing the Word Water in English and nước inVietnamese - An investigation into Pragmatic and Cultural Aspects of English Proverbs Containing the Word Water in English and nước inVietnamese ... IN VIETNAMESE 4.2.1 Transference of meaning of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word Water and Nước in Vietnamese a Simile b Metaphor c Hyperbole 4.2.2 Semantic fields of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word Water and Nước in Vietnamese a Thorny Situation b Power c Nature d Living conditions e Emotion f Taking advantage g Personality 19 Table 4.8 Frequency of Semantic... Semantic Features of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word Water and Nước in Vietnamese a Similarities b Differences 20 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 5.1 CONCLUSIONS Idioms beautify the language and help to establish the characteristics of each individual language As has already been stated, the purpose of this thesis is to study the semantic and syntactic features of idiomatic expressions. .. different ways in using idioms in order to express what they want to say or communicate to the readers, and basing on using idioms, learners can enrich their knowledge of the cultures of the other countries more easily and clearly By using idioms, the sentences are more beautiful and meaningful 21 In this thesis, we aim at comparing and contrasting the syntactic and semantic features of English and Vietnamese. .. mention the parallel structures of English and Vietnamese idioms in form of noun phrases, verb phrases and adjective phrases Apart from these, a summary of the similarities and differences of syntactic features of English and Vietnamese idioms is also provided Semantically, all EIW and VIN in this study express their meanings via semantic transfer means such as metaphor, hyperbole and simile Especially,... structures are used both in English and Vietnamese idioms Throughout syntactic and semantic fields we find out the similarities and differences in English and Vietnamese idioms Moreover, before inferring any conclusion, we analyze each of idioms carefully as well as carry out comparing and contrasting each English idiom and Vietnamese one From the discussion, we can recognize that every country has different... suggestions for language teaching and learning idiomatic expressions to help Vietnamese learners of English An important first step is exposing learners in comprehending unknown idiomatic expressions Learners should be encouraged to infer the meaning of the idiomatic expressions by using contextual clues or background knowledge After presenting idioms in context to help learners infer their meanings, teachers... idioms, their literal meaning and underlying conceptual metaphors, 23 learners will be better equipped with figurative language and make sense of it without teacher’s guidance Our view is that more emphasis should be put on the teaching of EIW and VIN to Vietnamese learners of English at all levels in order to raise their awareness in learning EIW and VIN For elementary and intermediate levels, in each ... FEATURES OF ENGLISH IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING THE WORD WATER AND “NƯỚC” IN VIETNAMESE 4.2.1 Transference of meaning of English Idiomatic expressions containing the Word Water and Nước ... expressions containing the word water and nước in Vietnamese 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY We wish to confine ourselves to studying idiomatic expressions containing the word water and nước in Vietnamese. .. the further research are: - An investigation into English Proverbs Containing the Word Water in English and nước inVietnamese - An investigation into Pragmatic and Cultural Aspects of English